September 8, 2012

Bangkok: Day 3

So I didn't get to experience the Chatuchak Market; enter the Grand Palace; see Wat Pho; or ride a river ferry along the Chao Praya, but I certainly made sure I visited Lumphini Park.  Not to work out as I had intended, but to merely see it and enjoy its existence.  I had wanted to go the night before to possibly partake in the nightly free aerobic classes but it had rained again.  We had a few more hours before our scheduled train ride and it was our last day in Bangkok ...

We hopped on the BTS from Phloen Chit, switched train lines at Siam, and got off at BTS Sala Daeng.  The one-way trip probably took about 30 minutes, including the time it took to stand in line and purchase tickets.  It was simple.  We walked west under the station's covered walk-way in the direction of the park, went down the stairs, and faced one rather annoying obstacle: crossing the congested streets.  If it's one thing I've found most challenging in Thailand (aside from the language barrier), it's crossing the streets.  There are traffic lights, yes, but it's a daunting experience.  It was always difficult to tell who was going to go and who was going to stop.  The cars seemed endless, and the worst part were the motorcyclists, who just whizzed their way through any opening imaginable.  We often found ourselves using the locals (mostly as shields) who would cross with us or opposite us, you know, the go-with-the-flow 'you-go-I-go' method.  You figure these locals know what they're doing.  Finally we reached Lumphini Park, Bangkok's equivalent to San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.

Ahhh ... *sigh of relief*!
We got there at 10 AM, and as my family set up camp on a bench near the water, I decided to go walking on my own despite sweat already dripping from my forehead.  It was quite a work-out just crossing the streets to get here!  Because we didn't have too much time to relax (hotel check-out was at noon, and we still needed to take the sky train back), I walked briskly, snapping photos as I went covering the entire perimeter of the lake closest to Th Ratchadamri.  Curiosity fuels me, and I wanted to see everything my tiny feet could get me.  I kept thinking if only we had more time, I would have so loved to have gone on the water in one of these ...

Boat Rental
Like these people!
I passed a group of people doing Tai Chi, an incredible art form that I find beautiful and harder than it looks,

followed by a shrine,

then an interesting art piece, 

some flora and fauna,

and finally back to my family, who of course missed me when I was gone ... ;-)

It was a very nice stroll through a lovely, relaxing park where everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.  What a great place to come to to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city yet still be in the city!  Such a great space to walk, bike, jog, or simply lie about and read, study, or nap.  If I worked in any of the offices nearby this would be my go-to lunch spot.  Oh, and I only saw two European tourists and the rest were locals.  Kudos to Bangkok for creating such a fantastic place to hang out, a must-see for tourists that want respite amidst all their sight-seeing. 

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